Patrick_agyemang_-_asn_top_-_derby_-_major_injury_-_4-6-26
Americans abroad

Yanks abroad: Agyemang injured, Pulisic's drought continues, McKennie impresses, & more

ASN's Brian Sciaretta walks you through the top stories in the world of Americans abroad, starting with the injury that will cost Patrick Agyemang a World Cup spot
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
April 07, 2026
6:00 AM

THE MOST IMPORTANT story to emerge in the world of Americans abroad was not positive as Patrick Agyemang is out of the World Cup with a major Achilles injury. Sure, there was the normal topics such as Americans scoring, assisting, or struggling. But all thoughts should be with the U.S. national team forward who faces a long road to return to the field.

Here is the rundown.

 

Agyemang's serious injury

 

By now, the news is out. On Monday, U.S. national team forward Patrick Agyemang had to be stretchered off the field in the 41st minute of Derby County’s 2-0 win over Stoke City. It looked bad and the fear was that it was his Achilles.

On Tuesday, those fears were confirmed in a Derby County official club statement.

“The club can confirm Patrick Agyemang suffered a serious Achilles tendon injury during the first half of the Sky Bet Championship fixture against Stoke City.

Patrick will be undergoing a further assessment of the injury later today. The club will provide Patrick with the highest level of medical care and rehabilitation throughout his recovery.



Everyone at Derby County is fully behind Patrick at this difficult time and will continue to support him every step of the way.

As a result of this injury, Patrick will unfortunately miss this summer’s FIFA World Cup. At this stage it would be wrong to put a timeline on his recovery. Further updates will be communicated in due course.”



This is gutting for Agyemang who showed a lot of promise for Derby County since his arrival from Charlotte FC. After recovering from hernia surgery, Agyemang scored 10 goals for the Rams to help put them into a promotion race.

Agyemang become another player who will see his World Cup dream end due to an injury. All teams must deal with this every four years. As sad as that aspect of it is, the bigger concern is for Agyemang’s health as Achilles injuries are tricky. There are fears of reinjury and the possibility of not returning to 100% fitness.

The most pressing thing for Agyemang is that his recovery goes well and he can rejoin the Rams in the second half of next season. If he returns to 100% fitness, the U.S. national team will be there for him.

For the World Cup, Agyemang would have been a great option off the bench (behind Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi) to provide strength and an aerial presence against tired defenders.

 

Pulisic uneven form continues

 

When an attacking player goes 15 games without scoring or assisting, he runs the risk of getting benched. That happened on Monday when Christian Pulisic did not start for AC Milan in a tough away visit to Napoli.

Instead, the Hershey native came off the bench in the 74th minute with the score 0-0. Milan ended up losing 1-0 on a 79th minute goal.

Pulisic wasn’t bad. He drew two fouls and created a half-chance but still, his drought continues.

Milan is still likely to qualify for the Champions League, which was the main priority after a failed season a year ago saw them shut out of Europe. 

Pulisic’s form is a much more pressing concern for the U.S. national team. For all of the talk about which players will make the USMNT World Cup roster, the team’s success is almost certainly going to be determined by the top handful of players. It is hard to see the U.S. team succeeding without Pulisic playing well.

His momentum heading into June is critical.

 

McKennie scores in Juve win

 

Weston McKennie scored again for Juventus in a comfortable 2-0 win over Genoa on Monday. In a full 90 effort, he covered a ton of ground, bagged his fifth Serie A goal (nine in all competitions), and helped Juventus earn three points to move within a point of climbing into the top four.

On the goal, the finish was nice but it was a great run through the midfield after Genoa’s players were pushed up into the attack.



The best thing about McKennie’s form is that in recent weeks, he has maintained the high level of play even after he signed the contract extension. He is motivated and hungry heading into the World Cup.

For it all, he was named the MOTM.


 

Balogun continues to score

 

On Sunday, Folorain Balogun scored for the eighth time in eight games for Monaco in a big 2-1 win over Tim Weah and Marseille.

The goal came in the 74th minute and it was just a great individual play where he moved into the box on the right side and chipped the goalkeeper. It was one of his best goals he’s ever scored.



Balogun is one of the top American players right now in the game, but the key to translating it over to the U.S. national team is chemistry with his teammates and playing in a style that lets him try to run behind defenders. The U.S. team is still not there yet in terms of being able to unlock Balogun’s potential.

 

Busio & Venezia near promotion

 

Gianluca Busio and Venezia are inching towards promotion following Monday’s 3-1 win over Juve Stabia. That leaves Venezia three points clear atop the Serie B table and five points clear of automatic promotion.

There are now only five games remaining in the regular season and the next four are against teams in the bottom seven. It is an ideal situation right now for Venezia.

Against Juve Stabia, Busio assisted on the final goal in the 74th minute when his long, looping free kick was headed home by Andrea Adorante.

This has been the best season of Busio’s career and he is now a leader on Venezia as it heads to promotion. Even if he is not part of Mauricio Pochettino’s plans this World Cup, he still has a great chance of being part of the team next cycle.

 

Aaronson off to Wembley

 

Brenden Aaronson and Leeds United advanced to the semifinals of the FA Cup thanks to a shootout victory over West Ham United. Leeds did everything they could to try to lose this game carrying a 2-0 lead into second half stoppage time but conceded two late goals.

Aaronson entered the game as an early first half substitute due to injury and played well. He drew a penalty and converted his shootout attempt as Leeds still prevailed.

The takeaway is that Aaronson is a fighter and is at his best when the game devolves and becomes intense. He can make plays, force turnovers, and win balls. This game fit Aaronson well for stretches.

Next up for Leeds will be a tough matchup against Chelsea at Wembley while Manchester City and Southampton meet in the other semifinal.

 

Other notes of interest

 

Pellegrino Matarazzo and Real Sociedad remain in the hunt for a European place after a 2-0 win over Levante on Saturday. The American manager continues to succeed with the club since taking control in January. At that point, Real Sociedad were in a relegation battle. Now they are three points from Europe and are in the Copa del Rey final.

That is remarkable.

Shoutout to U.S. YNT fullback Aiden Harangi, 20, who scored his first goal for Zalaegerszegi TE in Hungary. A Hungarian dual national, Harangi most recently spent 2025 on loan with San Diego FC in MLS on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt. But earlier this year moved to ZTE on a permanent deal.

This goal came in his first team debut and it helped ZTE to a 2-0 win over Kisvarda. ZTE moved into third place with the win.



Finally, Malik Tillman scored his fifth Bundesliga goal of the season with the final goal of a 6-3 win over Wolfsburg. He entered the game in the 88th minute and was then able to get on the end of a great individual effort from Ernest Poku.



Tillmann hopes to build some momentum heading into the World Cup and hopefully add some more goals to his resume. Of the five goals he has scored this season, four have come against teams in the league’s relegation battle.

 

Post a comment

AmericanSoccerNow.